Sao Tome Port / Deep Water Harbor
Sao Tome is the main port, but it lacked a deep water harbor which would be necessary for oil tankers. As STP's oil bomm receeded intothe future, so too did talk of a new deep-water port. For trade to be successful, the country would need to invest in the excavation of a deep-water harbor. The US Navy has used the commercial port to tie up landing craft, as Sao Tome’s harbor is not deep enough to dock larger ships. An office was created in 2006 under the auspices of the ministry of Infrastructure to advertise for partners to finance the contructuion of a deep water harbor.
Sao Tome (0°21'N., 6°44'E.) (World Port Index No. 46380), the capital and main port of the island, stands along a sandy beach at the head of Baia de Ana Chaves. This town includes several good buildings of modern construction. A cathedral and several churches are also prominent. Vessels moor within and off the bay and work cargo via lighters. Vessels of moderate to deep draft should anchor, in an appropriate depth for their draft, on the alignment of the lighted range shown from Ponta Okedelrey. It is reported (1986) that a vessel anchored, in a depth of 10m, mud and soft sand, about 0.7 mile NNE of Ponta Sao Sebastiao. There was good holding ground, but poor protection from the open sea. Small vessels may anchor, in depths of less than 5m, within the inner part, but the sea breaks right across the bay after thunderstorms or when the swell sets in. Pilotage is not available. However, the Port Captain can be contacted on VHF channel 16.
The lack of a deepwater port has increased the cost of imports into and exports out of Sao Tome and hindered economic growth. Currently the island has a shallow draft port in Sao Tome City's harbor, which is only capable of receiving small vessels. Major oceangoing ships are forced to anchor over a mile offshore and small lighter vessels transport items, including containers, to the port's single pier. Once at the pier items are individually offloaded in a small overcrowded receiving area. In the short term, the development of a deepwater port would affect the current inefficient logistical stream and lower costs of importing and exporting goods and commodities. It could also provide facilities and warehouse space for the use of offshore oilfield support contractors. In the long term, the development of a deepwater port could provide moorage, refueling and other services for commercial and other vessels and even support an offshore fishing fleet.
In 2002, Sao Tome President Fradique de Menezes announced that his country and the United States had agreed upon establishment of a U.S. Navy base there. The United States never confirmed such plans. The U.S. military had acknowledged visits to Sao Tome for what were described as planning talks on security in the Gulf of Guinea. Some US and oil industry officials and Washington energy think-tanks had urged the Bush administration to establish a US naval base on Sao Tome to protect growing Western oil interests in West Africa.
Ambassador Kenneth Moorefield and Sao Tome ministers signed the $800,000 study agreement at Sao Tome's current international airport, the US Trade and Development Agency said in a 18 February 2004. The study on expanding Sao Tome's port and airport was in line with a U.S. agreement to "evaluate opportunities for technical assistance" to Sao Tome, the U.S. statement said. U.S. companies will get the contract for the to build a deep-water port and new airport.
STP is a member of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and Community of Portuguese Speaking Country, and has observer status in the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (EMCCA). STP subscribed to ECCAS’/EMCCA’s 2004 Transport Master Plan for Central Africa (PDCT-AC - Plan Directeur Consensuel des Transports en Afrique Centrale) but hasn’t benefitted yet from any project due to its insularity. While the extension of STP’s deep water harbor (US$ 4.4m) was contained in the PDCT-AC as a project of “second priority”, financing remained to be identified.
In 2006 the Ministry of Planning and Finance of São Tomé and Príncipe "Progress Report on Implementation of the National Poverty Reduction Strategy" noted that an office was created under the auspices of the Ministry of Infrastructure to advertise for partners to finance the construction of a deep water harbor.
In May 2001 it was reported that some $12 million (£7.2 million) was to be invested by Angola's state-owned oil company Sonangol to improve the Sao Tome and Principe port. The funding was to be be used to help improve the small island nation's port and airport, the government revealed. Sonangol's Batista Sumbe said the company wanted to help make Sao Tome a hub for the region. Sonangol would invest $5 million in the Ana Chaves port and just over $7 million in the country's international airport, Carlos Vila Nova, Sao Tome's minister for natural resources, said. The investment formed part of a 30-year contract signed by the firm to run both the sea and air ports in the nation, with further investments expected over the course of the contract.
In 2013, Sao Tomean Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Communication Natalia Pedro da Costa Umbelina Neto paid a visit to Beijing, accompanied by the president’s diplomatic advisor, Paulo Jorge do Espirito Santo Pajo. A few days after the visit, China set up a trade representative office in Sao Tome and Principe. In June 2014 STP President Pinto da Costa sought consent from the National Assembly to embark on the trip to find Chinese investment for the country’s deep-water port project estimated at US$500 million. In a letter dated 04 June 2014, STP President Pinto da Costa told Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou that the visit to Shanghai was made in a private capacity to solicit investment in Sao Tome and Principe's deep-water harbor and promote the nation's economic development.
Sao Tome and Principe said in October 2015 it had agreed to build a deep-sea port in partnership with China. Officials say the port will have economic, not military, aims. Equity and lease arrangements for the $800 million deep-sea transshipment hub should be finalized with state-owned China Harbor Engineering Company by May 2016. Sao Tome and Principe Prime Minister Patrice Trovoada told VOA the first stage of construction should be completed by 2018. "I need revenue to provide health and good quality education. We said let us go to a model where, if we have to raise some debt, it is a sustainable debt. If you look not only at the Gulf of Guinea, but at the maritime route going to South America from Asia, a transshipment hub makes sense, but it cannot be a white elephant. That is why we engaged with this Chinese company," said Trovoada.
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